Short update for the prologue. Hopefully you'll like it. Give me your thought on the comment section below. ^^

One never learns how the witch became wicked,

Or whether that was the right choice for her- is it ever the right choice?

Gregory Maguire – Wicked

“And they lived happily ever after….” With a smile, Mrs. Choi closed the hardcover storybook as she pulled the fluffy pink blanket and covered her daughter’s tiny body.

“The end…” The mother-daughter pair uttered in sync, both ended up giggling cheerfully, painting the serene, tranquil night with colors of happiness. Feeling her mother’s slender fingers on her head, patting her coal-black hair softly, Choi Soojung snuggled closer to her teddy bear, hugging it tightly in her arms.

“Mommy…” She stole a quick glance at her mother before touching the storybook once again; flipping through the few last pages as she pondered, mind totally puzzled with tons of question that hardly most 5 year-old could even fathom.

Why was it that in every fairy tale, it always ended with the witch having her heart broken?

Why was it that in every fairy tale, only the princess found that one person that she can claim as her true love?

Why can’t the princess have her heart broken the same way as the witch did?

Why can’t the witch find true love the same way as the princess did?

It sounded so unfair yet that was the way every fairy tale was written.

The princess was utterly blessed with happily ever after whereas the witch was somewhat destined to be cursed with calamity for the rest of her life.

What a classic, stereotypical fairy tale!

“What’s the matter, Soojung-ah? Want me to read the storybook again for you?” Her mother asked, causing her to slip back into reality, erasing all the questions that she had in mind.

The little girl closed the storybook as she shook her head. “Nothing, mommy.” She mastered her fake smile to ease her mother. 

But mothers will always be mothers.

No matter how skillful Soojung tried to hide her anxiety behind her fake smile, the woman besides her will always see right through her, reading her crystal clear like she was an open book. Soojung did considered the possibility of her mother being a mind reader but she knew pretty well that there was no such thing as super power despite her young age. She could tell apart between reality and fantasy regardless how fond she was in reading fairy tales.

But then again, maybe it was a mother’s instinct or perhaps even a sixth sense that enabled her mother to realize that she was indeed bothered with something.

“Nothing always means something, princess.” Mrs. Choi took the storybook from Soojung’s hand and placed it on the table beside the bed. She later on enwrapped her arms around the little girl and pulled her precious daughter into her embrace. “You know you can always tell me anything. So, tell the tale, Choi Soojung. Mommy won’t bite like alligator. I pinky promise you.” Mrs. Choi said as she tickled her daughter, making the room echoed with her laughter.

“Ah…. Mommy! Stop it! Stop it! It tickles!!!” Soojung tried to avoid her mother’s tickling attack, pushing her hands away from her. She twisted and turned all over the bed but her mother had always been an avid tickling expert. “Mommy!!! You win. I’ll talk. I d tell you everything. So, please stop.” She begged her mother, raising the white flag, unable to withstand being tickled anymore.

“Yeay! Mommy got 1 point, while loser Soojung got ZERO! I repeat, Z.E.R.O! Zero!” Mrs. Choi flashed her winning smile, causing the little girl to pout in dismay.

Soojung heaved softly.“Urgh, mommy! What are you? A kid? I can’t believe you’re my mom.”

Mrs. Choi laughed at her comment; her hand found the little girl’s nose and pinched it gently. “Like it or not, I’m your mom. Always have and always will be.” Landing a soft kiss on Soojung’s forehead, she continued, “Now, now. It’s about time you tell me what’s bothering you. Mommy’s here.”

Soojung paused for a while, looking directly at the white ceiling above her. “Mommy, why can’t the witch be happy? I mean, in every fairy tale, she’s always the evil one. I guess that’s why I pity her. I don’t think that she’s evil. She… just wanted to love and be loved by someone… the same way like the princess did.”

“Sweetheart…. What more can one ask for than to love and be loved in return? Love is a very essential existence in this world. And I’m sure the witch realized that too. That was why; she craved for that love and searched long and hard for it. However, she used the wrong methods. But who are we to judge her actions. For all the crimes, for all the bad deeds, for all the wrongs that she did, there must be solid reason behind her them. But we can’t ever know, we can’t ever be sure of it.” Mrs. Choi explained her thoughts, long and hard as she looked directly at her daughter’s face. “Nevertheless, I believe that in every fairy tale, if the writer ever continues the story, he or she will write that the witch will find the happiness that she deserves. After all, everybody deserves to love and be loved. Regardless of their action in the past.”

Soojung’s lips stretched into a sparkling smile. “So, does that mean the witch can be happy too, mommy?”

“Of course, dear.”

“Then, I want to be a witch. I’ll show to everyone that even the witch can find her happiness.”

“Be it as a princess or a witch, you’ll definitely find your happiness, Choi Soojung. Definitely!”

*

The moonlight that glimmered through her windows had awoken her from her dream. Cold sweat drenched her forehead as she lightly wiped the liquid away. Her breathing was frantic, her heartbeats were abnormally off the rhythm and her mind was blank, like a black hole just everything and vanished them into thin air.  The last remnants of a dream was being chased away by the realisation that she was awake again. It was a nice dream, after all. A dream about her mother that she hadn’t had for a long time. With a mental sigh, Soojung allowed her brain to focus and cautiously opened her eyes.

She glanced to her side, staring closely at the picture of her and her mother together when she was 6. It was the last picture of them together before death came knocking and took away her beloved mother from her side.

She wondered why that conversation appeared once again inside her dream. She questioned herself about the real meaning behind her dream. Since her mother died, she discarded everything that reminded her about the pain of losing someone. No more princess attitude, no more adorable angelic little Soojung and definitely no more fairy tales.

It was hard for her to let go of fairy tales entirely, because almost everyone including herself had that smallest bit of faith and hope that one day, they would open their eyes and everything would be true and they have their ‘happily ever after’ ending.

But at the end of the day, fairy tales weren’t real; they were merely fictional, created for someone’s self-satisfaction.

As time passed by, Soojung couldn’t cope up with the reality anymore.

She was hurt.

And she hided all her sad feelings, deeply buried, camouflage behind a smile. A smile that everyone believed, a smile that told everyone she was happy. Little did they know that she cried at night, telling herself things no one should ever say.

She was bitter.

There were some nights where she felt alone, like completely alone. It was like the world had drained her off everything and everyone she had. She’d wished she could confide someone, but no one felt right. Those nights were the most unbearable. Her heart would have this terrible sinking feeling like it was to explode anytime. People said crying out would make it feel better but she was unable to cry anything out. She didn’t feel sad, she felt empty.

She was broken.

For living in human flesh was harder that it seemed, because there were stories and scars and memories that she’d tried to keep unseen.

She was never the same Choi Soojung anymore.

And like the wicked witch, she found herself unable to find true love.

Even her entire wealth couldn’t help her to obtain the person she had craved so much.

Her one true love….

Kim Jongin.

Opening the drawer next to her bed, she took out a document and switched on the table lamp. Rereading the piece of paper for the umpteenth time, she hadn’t had the strength to choke back her tears. She felt her chest tightened, her heart was pierced with knife as she crumbled the piece of paper and threw it away from her hand.

Indeed, reality was a bad game.

Even the witch can find her happiness.

The sentence from her dream echoed, playing like a loop inside her mind.

And that was when all hell broke loose.

The witch had finally been awoken from her deep slumber.

And she was ready for a battle to rip apart the happiness that belonged to the prince and the princess.